


A Shot In The Dark

by thedemonkingawakes



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Blindness, Gen, Hints of Olicity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-31
Updated: 2014-10-31
Packaged: 2018-02-23 07:38:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2539736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedemonkingawakes/pseuds/thedemonkingawakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A trap leaves Oliver temporarily blinded. He has a plan that allows him to still catch the criminals, but it will put one of the people closest to him in danger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Shot In The Dark

Oliver stumbled down the steps, leaning heavily on Diggle. Felicity hopped up from her seat, grabbing the first aid kit as Diggle helped Oliver to the table. He sat down clumsily, brushing his hands along the edge of the table.

“What happened?” Felicity asked.

“You mean, you don’t know?” Diggle replied, sitting down in one of the chairs.

“No. The cameras went dark right after you got there.”

Diggle sighed. “It was a trap. They were waiting for us. Oliver took a hit to the head pretty early on, and after that everything went to hell.”

Felicity cleaned away the dried blood around the cut on Oliver’s scalp, her hands steady as she worked.

“Oliver could barely walk straight, much less hit a target. The fact that we got out alive is a miracle.”

Oliver’s eyes were blank and unfocused as Felicity flicked a flashlight back and forth in front of them.

“Oliver, can you see anything?”

“No.” Oliver replied, his voice flat.

“He has a concussion, I think. That’s probably why he can’t see and why his balance is off. His vision...it should return in a couple of days, I hope.”

Oliver stood up, stumbling into the back room of the lair. He shut the door behind him quietly.

“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Felicity asked.

“I honestly don’t know Felicity.”

~*~*~

Long after Diggle had left, Oliver came out of the back room. His balance had returned, and he walked confidently through the lair, navigating by memory alone.

“Felicity? Are you still here?”

“Yes.” Felicity replied. “I was just about to head out.”

Oliver sighed. He leaned against the glass case that held his bow and looked towards where he knew the computers to be. “I need you Felicity. I need your help. These guys are hurting people and I have to take them out. But I can’t do it alone. If I knew any other way, a way to do this with putting you in these men’s path, I would. Without my sight, I can’t fight these people. I need you to tell me where they are.”

“Why me? Why not Diggle or Roy?”

“Roy has enough on his shoulders. And Diggle would only try to stop me.”

“Oliver, I should stop you. You’re going to get yourself killed like this.”

“I’m doing this with or without your help Felicity. Things will just go smoother if you’re there.”

Eventually, Felicity nodded. Then, realizing Oliver couldn’t see the motion she said yes, trying to keep the shaking from her voice. “One condition. We practice here first.”

“Felicity.” Oliver growled. “We’re wasting time.”

“If you get hurt - or worse - you won’t be able to catch them at all. So we’re going to do this my way, or I swear I’ll tie you to a chair.” She blushed, hurriedly backtracking. “Not in that way. I just mean I was going to tie you up, I was going to hit you with a sedative and restrain you so you couldn’t go after those men.”

Oliver growled in frustration, but he grabbed his bow and an arrow from their case. “Where?”

“It’s on your left, about halfway up the wall.”

Oliver spun, aiming an arrow at the mark on the wall. He let it fly and Felicity watched as the arrow struck the wall wide of the target and clattered to the floor.

“Try again.”

Oliver nocked another arrow, forcing himself to take a deep breath before he released it. The arrow hit wide of its target again, burying itself in the wall.

“This isn’t working Felicity.”

Cautiously, Felicity approached him and placed a hand on either shoulder. “Calm down. Take a deep breath and close your eyes.”

Felicity waited until Oliver’s eyes were closed and the tension had faded from his shoulders before she moved. Slowly, she guided Oliver’s arms until they looked to be lined up with the target. Taking a step back, she told Oliver to make the shot.

The arrow sped through the air and lodged itself in the wall at the edge of the target. Felicity smiled.

“Felicity…”

“Right. You hit the target.”

“Where?”

“Outer edge. But it’s still on the target.”

“Fine. Let’s try it with something moving.”

Oliver grabbed another couple arrows and a tennis ball. He handed Felicity the tennis ball, gesturing for her to throw it up in the air. She did, adjusting his position with her other hand. As she removed her hand, Oliver adjusted his aim slightly, compensating for the ball’s motion. The arrow snagged the top of the ball, pinning it to the wall. After a moment, it fell, the covering having broken on the sharp arrow.

“See. Wait, sorry, I know you can’t see. I just mean that this works.”

Oliver shook his head. “We have to find another way.”

“Oliver, this works. And you said it yourself, if we don’t act soon then we’ll lose these guys.”

“Then we lose them. I’m not doing it this way.”

“Why?”

“I won’t put you in that much danger. It’s bad enough that I’m asking you to call out the shots for me; I don’t want you with me where you’ll get hurt.”

Felicity shook her head firmly. “It’s my choice. You need my help, so I’m going to help you.”

“Felicity-”

“Oliver, it’s settled.”

~*~*~

Oliver crept into position, Felicity a few steps behind him calling out obstacles.

“They’re here.” She whispered.

Oliver stood, silently drawing an arrow from his quiver. Felicity stood as well. Fighting to stop her hands from shaking, she placed her hands on his shoulders. Oliver could feel the tremble in her hands as she guided his aim.

“Felicity, you don’t have to do this. We can leave and get these guys another day.” Oliver said quietly.

Their chances of finding the men again were slim at best, but Oliver didn’t care. It wasn’t worth the fear it was causing for Felicity; nor was it worth the danger it put her in.

Steeling her voice, Felicity replied, “No. Let’s just catch these bastards before they hurt anyone else.”

Oliver nodded and let Felicity aim him. As she removed her hands from his shoulders, he fired the shot. The arrow leapt from the bow and sped forward to bury itself in the wood barely an inch away from one of the men.

“Lay down your weapons and surrender.” Oliver called, his deep voice echoing around the empty warehouse.

One of the men laughed. “What do you know, the hood guy from earlier decided to go another round.”

With Felicity’s help, Oliver fired off another couple shots, pinning two of the men to the support posts. The third man grabbed a gun from a crate and turned, firing wild shots in Oliver’s general direction. One brushed by Oliver, missing him by a hair’s breadth. A moment later, Oliver heard Felicity cry out. He dropped his bow, sending it skidding across the ledge, and dropped to his knees beside Felicity. His fingers touched something wet and sticky and Oliver could smell the metallic scent of blood. His hands flew across Felicity’s prone body, searching for the source of the bleeding. Eventually, he found the wound just below her shoulder. It was still bleeding heavily and Oliver ripped a strip of fabric from Felicity’s shirt, holding it against her shoulder. With one hand, Oliver fished his phone from his pocket and dialed 911.

“I’m at the old warehouse down by the docks. I have a woman here with a gunshot wound. She needs medical help. Please hurry.”

Oliver waited until he could hear sirens in the distance before he left. Stumbling across his discarded bow and quiver, Oliver scooped them up and made his way out of the building.

~*~*~

Felicity opened her eyes, her vision slowly coming into focus. Blank white walls stared back at her. A warm hand rested on hers.

“Hey.” Oliver said softly.

Felicity glanced over at him, wincing as the action caused pain to flare up in her shoulder.

“What happened?”

“You got shot. That was two days ago; you’ve been unconscious since then.”

“What about you? Has your sight come back?”

Oliver nodded. “It’s blurry, but it’s back. I’m really glad you’re alright.”

For the first time, Felicity noticed the stubble coating Oliver’s jaw and the dark circles under his eyes.

“Oliver, how long have you been here?”

Oliver considered it for a moment. “About two days. Dig forced me to go home for a couple hours last night, but otherwise I’ve been here.”

Felicity smiled. “Go home Oliver. Get some sleep.”

Oliver squeezed her hand before he stood and left. Felicity lay back against the pillows, letting sleep pull her back into its warm embrace.

 

 


End file.
